# Hungary: formation of the KESMA pro-government media foundation

Published 2026-09-23. Last reviewed 2026-09-22. 3 sources.

Status: historical, as of 2026-09-22.

What we don't know: The sources reviewed do not give the government's stated reason for exempting the merger from competition review.

Owners aligned with Hungary's governing party donated 476 outlets into one non-profit foundation, KESMA. The government exempted the merger from the antitrust review that would normally apply to a combination of that size.[1][2][3]

- Country: [Hungary](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/hu) (RSF 2026 rank: 74th of 180)
- Where: Hungary
- Level of government: National
- Tactic: Funding and ownership pressure
- Stage: Silence (ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/funding_and_ownership_pressure#stage-silence)
- Ladder note: Owners surrendered 476 outlets into one government-aligned foundation, exempted by decree from antitrust review; United States funding pressure has cut money and licenses but has not required owners to give up outlets.
- Head of government at the time: [Viktor Orban](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/viktor-orban)
- Issue of the day: Not stated in the sources reviewed.
- Outcome: Sustained, 29 November 2018. The merger was completed and the exemption was not reported as reversed in the sources reviewed.
- Era: The 2010s

## What happened

On November 29, 2018, the owners of 476 Hungarian outlets, including television channels, radio stations, news portals, newspapers and magazines, transferred them for no payment into a single non-profit body, the Central European Press and Media Foundation, known as KESMA. Most of these outlets had already been supportive of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government; several had themselves been bought in earlier years by businesspeople close to the governing Fidesz party. Ordinarily a media combination of this scale would trigger a review by Hungary's competition authority to check its effect on media pluralism. The government instead declared the merger a matter of national interest and exempted it from that review by decree. KESMA's outlets now make up a large share of Hungary's total media market, alongside the country's state broadcaster.[1][2][3]

Sustained; KESMA continued to operate as of the sources reviewed.[1][2][3]

## What reason was given

Not stated in the sources reviewed.[1][2][3]

## What changed for reporting

Hungary's press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders later said the government-aligned foundation and state broadcasting together dominate about eighty percent of the national media market, crowding out independent competitors for advertising and audience.[1][2]

## Timeline

- 2018-11-29: Hungary: formation of the KESMA pro-government media foundation

## Who acted

| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Central European Press and Media Foundation (KESMA)](https://thewaronnews.com/actors/kesma) | other | Government-aligned media holding foundation |
| [Viktor Orban](https://thewaronnews.com/actors/viktor-orban) | other | Prime Minister of Hungary (through 2026) |

## Outlets and journalists

| Name | Kind | Relation |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [KESMA member outlets](https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/kesma-network) | outlet | affected |

## Sources

1. Nations in Transit 2019: Hungary. https://freedomhouse.org/country/hungary/nations-transit/2019 (Freedom House, 2019-05-01).
2. Hungary. https://rsf.org/en/country/hungary (Reporters Without Borders).
3. Huge Pro-government Media Conglomerate Formed in Hungary. https://www.voanews.com/a/huge-pro-government-media-conglomerate-formed-in-hungary-/4678690.html (Voice of America, 2018-11-28).

## Claims cited

[1] RSF's later assessment of the merged foundation's market share. Quote: "this group now controls 80% of the country's media landscape" Source: Reporters Without Borders. Hungary. https://rsf.org/en/country/hungary Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/529, checked 2026-09-22.

[2] RSF's characterization of the state broadcaster over the same period. Quote: "public broadcasting was turned into a propaganda machine" Source: Reporters Without Borders. Hungary. https://rsf.org/en/country/hungary Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/530, checked 2026-09-22.

[3] The number of outlets folded into the new foundation. Quote: "In December, the owners of 476 progovernment titles donated their outlets to a new non-profit entity called KESMA for free; the merger was exempted from antitrust review on "national interest" grounds." Source: Freedom House, 2019-05-01. Nations in Transit 2019: Hungary. https://freedomhouse.org/country/hungary/nations-transit/2019 Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/626, checked 2026-09-22.

Source page: https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2018-hungary-kesma-media-merger. The War On News, CC BY 4.0.